Patrick Alfred Pierce Moran was born in Kings Cross, Sydney, on 14 July 1917. He was the first of six children of Herbert Michael Moran (b. 1885 in Sydney, d. 1945 in Cambridge U.K.) and Eva (
née
Mann) (b. 1887 in Sydney, d. 1977 in Sydney). The other siblings died at or shortly after birth. His father, H.M. Moran, was a Sydney surgeon who specialized also in the radium treatment of cancer. Moran’s paternal grandfather, Michael Moran (1856-1951) was the son of a small tenant farmer in Ireland. He came to Australia in 1877 and was a successful baker in Sydney. His paternal grandmother, who died young, was born in Dungog, New South Wales, in 1860. Both her parents were Irish. His mother’s ancestors were all in Australia by 1830. Her father’s family were English Protestants and her mother’s mostly Irish Catholics. None of Pat Moran’s forebears, other than his father, had any connection with science nor indeed any formal education. Pat Moran was significantly influenced by his father, Herbert, although he wrote in autobiographical notes that ‘I did not understand him at all... yet I appreciated him’. Herbert Moran had a considerable interest in science and he collected a large library, including many books on the history of medicine and also on science. In addition he subscribed to
Nature
and at one stage he employed J.M. Somerville, then a research student in Sydney and later a professor at Armidale, to tutor him in physics, especially radioactivity. Pat absorbed the atmosphere and was fascinated by many of the books. In particular, at about age 13, he read H.W. Turnbull’s small book on
Great mathematicians
and ‘determined to be a mathematician’.
An Important Document for the History of Turkish Radiation Oncology: “The Principles of Radium Treatment” / Türk Radyasyon Onkolojisi Tarihi Adına Önemli Bir Belge: “Radyumla Tedavi Esasları”
